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Rainbeaus Beginnings
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For those of you who are relatively new to the club (less than 10 years), you probably are not aware of the club’s history. This is the first article in a six-part series designed to provide a cursory look at our past, in anticipation of the club’s 25th anniversary in February.
For background purposes…the stage was set for gay square dancing in Miami in the late 1970’s. In an effort to generate business, two bars and a bathhouse each sponsored a square dance “team” that met to compete and out-do each other in memorized sequences and styling. The initial spirit was one of competitiveness, but in time the dancers befriended each other and began learning square dance calls in a cooperative environment. That group of dancers coalesced to become the “South Florida Mustangs”. In 1985, the Mustangs were honored with the prestigious Golden Boot Award for being the first-ever gay square dance club.
Rainbeaus Part 2: A Summary of First-Year Activities
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As mentioned in the last article, the Rocky Mountain Rainbeaus Square Dance Club was formed in February 1984, by a group of individuals [gay and straight, 20 in all (#1)] who were bound together by a commitment to socially oriented square dancing in an inclusive environment. It was originally decided that the name of the club would be the Rocky Mountain Rainbows, spelled that way, since the rainbow flag is a well-established symbol of gay pride. Within a couple of weeks, someone suggested that the spelling be changed to Rainbeaus to pick up the square dance reference (i.e., the Beaus and Belles concept), and the notion that we welcome same sex couples (#2). That was a fortuitous move, as it opened the door for the naming of the club’s camp drag contingent, the Rainbelles, in 1986.
Read more: Rainbeaus Part 2: A Summary of First-Year Activities
Rainbeaus Part 5 --The New Millennium
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The Rainbeaus entered the new millennium with great hopes for the future. The membership was stable, the finances were strong, and the members continued to contribute their time and energy and talents to the benefit of the club. Some members have been able to effectively utilize some of the technological advances available now. The newsletter is now very professional and sophisticated, with color and photographic additions unavailable before these advances. The financial reports are also much more detailed and sophisticated and understandable. Our marketing brochures and flyers are more attractive and, hopefully, more effective. A Web site has been created and developed for all club members and interested parties, with multiple means of sending and receiving information through our computers. Of course, person-to-person communication still remains one of the most effective means of giving and getting information and is necessary because not everyone has access to a computer.
Rainbeaus Part 3 --Through the 80's
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After the Rainbeaus' first year of classes and events, there was increased determination and commitment to square dancing, in general, and to the club, in particular, to grow and share this wonderful activity with others. Through the winter and spring of 1985, the Rainbeau classes began to focus on the upcoming IAGSDC Convention #2, to be hosted by Denver's Mile High Squares, May 25-27. The goal of the orange class (started Oct. 15, 1984) was to graduate from the Mainstream lessons and become club members; the goal of the Founders/Red Class was to complete Plus lessons. Although planning for "Promenade Along the Rockies" was handled primarily by members of Mile High Squares, the Rainbeaus arranged to contract Pam McKeever (Albuquerque) to conduct workshops during the weekend. (Her specialty was a "Flying Squares" workshop.) Also, The Rainbeaus together with New York's Times Squares hosted a Saturday morning swim/dance party called by Pam. The Convention provided an inexpensive opportunity for our new dancers to experience the excitement of a convention for themselves.
Rainbeaus Part 6 -- 2004 to 2009
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The Club was growing and remained vital and financially stable. We had celebrated our 20th Anniversary in February, 2004, and we were looking forward to the coming events of the next few years, especially the 2005 Fly-In, “Colorado Mountain Mix”, and the 24th Annual IAGSDC Convention, “Red Rocks and Purple Mountains”, in 2007. We knew that the planning and execution of these events would involve enormous amounts of time and energy, but we were excited to be hosting them.
Rainbeaus Part 4 -- Into the 90's
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With the arrival of the 1990's, the club was enjoying success in many ways. It was now the only gay and lesbian square dance club in the state, as the Mile High Squares had disbanded. With increased numbers of dancers, increasing dance levels achieved by more dancers, numerous activities for all to enjoy, established by-laws, a dues structure in place, and, with the exception of the dreaded AIDS epidemic, things were looking good for the club.